Imagine a world where people who suffer from epilepsy receive alerts moments before a seizure, where the average person can peer into their own mind to eliminate painful memories and we can easily cure addictions. This is also a world where your brain could be interrogated to learn your political beliefs, your thoughts can be used as evidence of a crime, and your own feelings can be held against you.

Neuroscience has already made all of this possible today, and neurotechnology will soon become the ‘universal controller’ for all of our interactions with technology. That’s the claim made by Professor Nita Farahany who came to Intelligence Squared to share her insights in May 2023. According to her, the growth of commercial neurotechnology could be of immense benefit to humanity, but without safeguards, it could seriously threaten our fundamental human rights to privacy, freedom of thought and self-determination.

Hear one of the world’s foremost experts on the ethics of neuroscience offer a path forward to navigate the complex legal and ethical dilemmas that will fundamentally impact our freedom to understand and define ourselves.